CHAPTER 1039: CHAPTER 9: CHI HUO’S BURNING WRATH

"What are the consequences of not serving the light?"

This voice gently echoed within the spiritual domain created by the Holy Judge.

The chant was interrupted, and the Holy Judge immediately said angrily, "Those who do not serve the light shall endure the blazing fire punishment!"

The coarse robes began to glow in the darkness!

They serve the light; they are not afraid of darkness... because they themselves are the light in the long night!

As soon as the words "blazing fire punishment" were spoken, the thoughts from the spirit sea of these Holy Judges converged together, shooting toward Gu Shen... A blazing beam of light exploded at a very short distance in the dark alley, directly hitting the target.

Boundless fiery fire and ashes swirled in the fierce wind!

However.

After a few seconds, the beam of light extinguished.

Pale fire flakes fluttered down in the air above the alley.

There was no imagined grand explosion.

At the end of the shattered light, was Gu Shen’s outstretched palm, a strand of light more blazing than all these Holy Judges combined... gathered in the center of his palm.

Gu Shen shook his head and murmured softly in his heart, "...Compared to Meng Xiao, they’re much inferior."

These Holy Judges are not considered elite.

Generally, they are just around the third tier, but their physical bodies seem to have been tempered by some kind of secret technique, extremely resilient.

Their spirits united, just able to restrain Song Ci.

The latter took the token, perhaps affected day and night by the spiritual influence from Light City... entering the dream to receive the summons from the Divine Throne, only needing a catalyst.

These Holy Judges are the catalyst.

"Who are you?"

After the light extinguished, from the other side of the alley, came a reaction of horror.

They stared at the firelight in the young man’s palm, feeling a tremor. To deal with this level of Holy Judges, Gu Shen naturally wouldn’t use "Netherworld Fire," merely the Fiery Fire Power was already enough.

"Who I am is not important."

Gu Shen said calmly, "What’s important is... the words you said earlier: Those who do not serve the light must endure the punishment of the blazing fire. May I ask, did I just endure the punishment?"

With these words, those Holy Judges were stunned.

Under the sweeping Holy Light, Gu Shen was not injured in the slightest.

"Does this mean that I am innocent?"

Gu Shen smiled, "Actually, this question is not important either. What I’m most curious about is, if you were hurt by the burning of the ’blazing flame’, does that mean your faith in serving the light is not pure?"

The pupils of those Holy Judges at the end of the alley contracted.

The next moment.

Gu Shen waved his hand.

A boundless sea of fire rose with the wind.

Under his command, the fiery fire instantly engulfed the entire alley, expanding the Pure Land to envelop all these Holy Judges... soon, sounds of painful groaning came from the alley.

In this world, there are many people who believe in the light, but not everyone has the iron-like will of Jia Wei.

The fiery fire burning the spirit sea, such pain is not something ordinary people can endure.

This fiery fire will last for quite a while.

Gu Shen snapped his fingers to block out the sounds within the spiritual domain, and the alley suddenly fell quiet...

He turned around, no longer looking back.

Not far away, Song Ci, leaning against the wall, gradually regained consciousness.

As the dream created by the Holy Judges shattered.

His chaotic heart lake slowly returned to peace.

"Xiao Gu."

Song Ci’s voice was hoarse, and he shook his head forcefully, smiling bitterly, "Why did you suddenly come? Is the matter in the North Continent finished?"

"It’s finished, everything went smoothly."

Gu Shen looked at Song Ci, his eyes filled with both sympathy and helplessness, not expecting this fool to ask about the North Continent journey first upon seeing him...

"No... why are you here..."

Song Ci’s chaotic mind struggled to clear up some thoughts.

He opened his mouth in surprise.

"Miss Chu brought us here."

The next moment, several figures walked out from the corner, the full moon hanging high, the streetlights emitting weak light, revealing the faces of the newly arrived... Chu Ling, Lu Nanzhi, and Lu Nanjin all came out of the darkness.

"Madam, Xiao Lu, Miss Chu..."

Song Ci was stunned, staying where he was, foolishly addressing them once again, "You all came?"

"These past few days, you’ve been absent-minded, I noticed something was wrong. Fortunately, Miss Chu is a disciple of Master Qianye... so she quickly locked onto your location, and we managed to catch up."

Lu Nanzhi looked at the raging sea of fire at the end of the alley, her face full of worry.

Fortunately, they caught up!

Otherwise, the consequences would have been disastrous!

"Madam... I..."

Song Ci took a deep breath, wanting to say something, but in the end could only remain silent.

Looking at the other side of the alley, he felt a stomach full of frustration.

So unlucky!

The unluckiest to the extreme!

He is the first under the titled rank in Da Du, yet today he almost stumbled at the hands of these lackeys... and was seen by Madam, Xiao Lu, and Gu Shen, those he cares about!

Especially Xiao Lu, he already noticed the latter’s deliberately hidden mocking smile.

"These people are Holy Judges from Light City."

Gu Shen gazed at his sea of fire, speaking calmly, "I’m afraid this action against Brother Song has been planned for a long time... they’ve waited at least a year."

Song Ci obtained the symbolic token and emblem more than a year ago.

The token can influence the spirit of a Transcendent... just that the stronger one is, the longer the time required.

A "Apostle" like Song Ci, who hasn’t even seen the Light God’s Seat, is rare among the Five Continents. In most cases, the Divine Throne only needs to raise an arm and countless people will rush forward to receive the shadow cast by the fire’s glow.

The Divine Throne doesn’t lack Apostles at all.

Therefore... it’s rare for an Apostle not to serve the Divine Throne.

This is an exception.

"A year..." Song Ci thought for a moment and murmured: "Come to think of it, it does seem like that’s the case. Since obtaining the emblem, I’ve often had dreams... Dreams of a high mountain and a red lake."

Upon hearing this, Gu Shen chuckled: "Is there also someone in the dream telling you to read books?"

"Yes... how do you know?"

Song Ci was surprised.

He had a peculiar expression, awkwardly saying: "Initially, I quite enjoyed having this dream. Because no matter how tired or exhausted I was, once I entered the dream, everything vanished. But later, as that ethereal figure started guiding me to read books, I began to feel resistance."

"From what I know of Song Ci, he would rather take a beating than read a page."

Lu Nanjin nodded seriously, solemnly saying: "Being able to say such words implies he hasn’t yet been influenced by the token."

The lady of the house smiled helplessly.

"The Light God’s Seat... certainly picks people well."

Gu Shen couldn’t help but laugh, too.

First Fisher, then Song Ci... these two rough individuals, where would they ever be the type to enjoy reading books?

"The Light God’s Seat is likely seeking someone qualified to enter the ’Forbidden Book Tower’ to review the texts." Chu Ling listened carefully and communicated to Gu Shen: "The identity of ’Undead’ is probably just one of the entry tickets."

The guidance to Fisher and Song Ci is enough to explain this point!

"According to Meng Xizhou, the Forbidden Book Tower was left by the ancestor of the West Continent..." Gu Shen murmured: "For the Light God’s Seat to so seriously select reviewers suggests he cannot casually browse within the tower himself."

"To accomplish his final goal, he can only rely on guidance," Chu Ling said: "Under normal circumstances, the guided Transcendents have already stepped into that red lake in their dreams, but Fisher and Song Ci are exceptions."

These two guys intrinsically dislike this sort of "knowledge."

Separated by thousands of miles and bound by strict rules, even the Divine Throne has things it cannot do.

"I believe, perhaps entering the book tower may not necessarily be a bad thing..."

Chu Ling pondered briefly and said: "If they really enter the red lake, even someone like Fisher who detests reading, Song Ci, might love that feeling of ’knowing all things.’

She loves reviewing, and she made this judgment by using [source code] analysis.

"So... Light patiently guided for a year."

"Finally, the long guidance is only one step away, leading to these Holy Judges."

Gu Shen’s thoughts were sorted out.

Once Song Ci enters the red lake, his spirit will likely be cleansed by the Light, and his previous cognition will also be thoroughly washed away.

No matter how resolute a mundane spirit is, it’s very difficult to resist a god.

Just like Mu Wanqiu back when she was summoned by the Netherworld King — after Song Ci enters the book tower to review, that’s when he is considered successfully summoned by the Light.

These Holy Judges, after completing the summons, will naturally submit to the Apostle before them.

The spiritual "homecoming" surpasses everything.

Once Song Ci genuinely believes he needs to "serve the Light," then his location no longer matters.

"Holy Judges, abandoning all, serving the Light, neither marrying nor having children, ready at all times to sacrifice for the West Continent..." Lu Nanjin said lightly: "Look, up ahead, that’s what they’ll look like when you become a Holy Judge."

Upon hearing these words, Song Ci broke out in a cold sweat.

"Damn it!" he angrily said: "Even if I become a monk, even if I take my own life, I won’t let these bastards have it easy!"

"Being a monk won’t help, and suicide is even less possible..."

Gu Shen said leisurely: "Don’t forget, you are an Undead, after all!"

...

...

After the sea of fire extinguished, those Holy Judges were all burnt to the point their spirits wilted.

They lay in the corner like puppets whose souls had been dried out.

These "fanatics" weren’t specifically dispatched to Da Du to carry out this mission.

They were locals, merely illuminated by the blessing light of the Light God’s Seat, willingly sacrificing themselves for the West Continent, but their life and death were never a concern for Light City.

Therefore, Gu Shen did not kill them.

After enduring the burnout of the Fiery Fire, their faith will directly collapse and shatter... They will question if they are truly Light believers, and the Light never asks more about such vacillating discarded pawns.

It won’t be long before the Transcendents from the prison will arrive to imprison them as "out-of-control."

The rest of their lives will be spent in confinement.

"What should I do now?"

Song Ci squatted at the street corner in the alley, looking at those Holy Judges who were shells now, with a head full of confusion.

This bunch of guys, gods and ghosts, not afraid of death, that’s fine, but they only play dirty...

That’s the scariest.

"A similar situation appeared in the North Continent... In the end, the solution was simple, the Empress stepped in to keep that ’Undead’ safe."

Gu Shen said calmly: "To get rid of the Dream of Light, there’s only one way. That is to seek help from a Divine Throne."

"Mr. Bai Shu?"

Song Ci coughed awkwardly and said: "Isn’t that a bit inappropriate? I... I’m not familiar with the old man."

"Leave this to me."

Gu Shen understood the implication of this guy’s words, smiled, and said: "I know Bai Shu Divine Throne quite well."

...

...

(PS: Once again asking for monthly votes~ Also: Tomorrow at noon at 12, which is overseas Netherworld time, I’ll add another Chapter as a thank you for the Alliance Hierarch’s reward~)